The entire world has been held to ransom since last one and a half year. Each and every one of us have been affected by this deadly virus one way or the other. Some of us have lost our dear ones to this horrible infection, some have lost their jobs/livelihood. Some have lost both. It has been a sad time for the whole world. It is in times like these that we turn to things that give us positivity.

The lovely orchids have brought in a lot of cheer for us even during such tough times. Each morning when I get up to check on them, these plants give a breath of fresh air and a surge of positive energy. Whenever these flowered a feeling immense pleasure and satisfaction seeped in. Their fresh beauty injected a surge of hope. In fact, these lovelies have a thing or two to teach us. They can show us the way ahead, teach us how to survive in tough circumstances.

Let’s see what lessons we can learn from orchids.

Cheer in dark times: Despite extremely tough conditions of growth orchids give out such heavenly flowers. These unique and lovely orchid flowers can bring a smile to even the toughest rookie. As a bonus, many of them give off heavenly scent too. This is the most important lesson of all of producing positivity from all the negativity around.

A period of rest is important: After a period of intense flowering, the orchids take a break from rapid growth and go into a period of rest where the plant slows down the metabolic processes having very little or no growth activity. They reduce their food requirements and go into a sort of sleep-for-a-while period. The lock-downs around the world have enforced upon us a period of rest, first time ever when all of the family was together. It has made one realise the value of family and friends. Most importantly, it brought home a message that mother earth can spring back to its former glory in no time provided the we stop messing with it. The pictures of wild animals making a comeback was really amazing.

Adapt and grow: Orchids are found living all over the world and most of the times they grow in areas that are deficient in the most basic requirements. But these group of plants have an amazing ability to survive very tough living conditions. They have learnt to not only survive but rather thrive, even when the basic needs of water and light are not available. They can put the short supply of the basic requirements to best use. This hardiness of orchids inspires us to change and adapt. The world scene has changed in many ways and to survive in these changed times we too will have to change and adapt. And not to forget, be more friendly towards the co-inhabitants of our planet.

Developed newer capabilities: Orchids have developed special structures to overcome and optimally use the limited resources available to them. We too must inculcate more adaptability, and some of us have already done so. Did we all not learn to manage things when everything was shut down? People started cooking dishes which were earlier thought to be impossible to cook at home. People had time on hand to learn skills that they wanted to learn but lack of time came in their way. We now know that every activity can be home based, be it office or school.

Cheero!